Credit card expense management software

Left unoptimized, expense management can be a huge burden on finance teams as they track, review, and process potentially thousands of transactions workforce-wide. And that’s saying nothing of the time employees spend doing their own expense reporting, or the time managers spend approving, compliance reviews, and more.

Luckily, a good chunk of expense management and reporting can be automated and streamlined with the help of dedicated corporate credit cards that come with expense-reporting software. Use them, and you could shave time off reimbursement requests, reviews, reconciliation, and payouts alike—all while streamlining the process end-to-end.

In this post, we’ll aim to help finance leaders understand the benefits of corporate credit card expense management software and highlight some of the best options out there to pick from.

What is a corporate credit card with expense management?

Corporate credit cards with expense management baked in are more than just a way to pay for business-related travel and expenses—they are a tool that businesses can use to streamline the entire expense management process, including compliance, spend-tracking, and expense reporting. Depending on whether the platform integrates with your other corporate finance and accounting tools, you may also be able to streamline the reimbursement process through payroll, and automate accounting updates.

Unlike corporate cards, which simply allow for employees to transact with a business-issued card and may come with certain built-in controls, corporate credit cards with built-in expense management software come with features designed to simplify expense reporting, reconciliation, and approval for employees, reviewers and finance teams. Among them are time-saving features like automated receipt capture and categorization, approval flows, and AI-assisted compliance reviews that can automatically flag potential policy violations. 

In short, expense management software can shave countless hours off the admin typically associated with business credit card expenses—all the while helping to ensure higher rates of compliance with your corporate expense policy, better visibility into employee and team spend, and faster, smarter operations and workflows.

4 benefits of business credit cards for expense management

Business credit cards with expense management can help you optimize the way you track, control, and process company spending. Here are some key benefits:

Streamlined expense tracking

Corporate credit card receipt management software eliminates the need for employees to keep detailed records of their transactions. So, instead of holding onto receipts and maintaining spreadsheets—and then spending hours filling out expense reports—these cards sync automatically with transaction software that can tag and categorize expenses and flag any that appear noncompliant for reviewers. 

Improved cash flow management

Flexible payment terms and detailed insights into spending mean businesses credit cards may be able to help you manage cash flow more effectively. For example, instead of reimbursing employees upfront for travel expenses, corporate credit cards let employees transact without incurring expenses on their own dime and waiting for reimbursement. At the same time, businesses can delay outflows until the bill comes due and have clear insight into the tab until they pay.  

Controlled employee spending

Businesses can set limits on employee spending, which prevents any expense-related budget-busting. You could also control spending for groups of employees by issuing single cards to entire departments. And since cards are linked to expense software that often comes with analytics tools and dashboards, it’s easy to keep an eye on outlays to proactively remain under budget.

Enhanced security and fraud protection

Transacting with a credit card typically offers the purchaser protection from fraud and other erroneous charges, thanks to real-time security monitoring and zero-liability fraud protection. Meanwhile, virtualized card issuance can also help to drive down fraud, and customizable spending rules can prevent charges that don’t comply with your corporate expense policy.

8 best corporate credit card expense management tools

The right corporate expense management software can simplify and expedite the end-to-end expense process with automated approvals, spend trackers, and fewer manual admin tasks. Here are eight solutions with corporate credit cards worth considering:

1. Navan

Navan is an all-in-one travel and expense management platform that aims to streamline corporate spending by integrating corporate cards, automated expense tracking, and travel booking in one platform.

Key features:

• Automated expense reporting that tracks and categorizes expenses in real time
• Travel management features that give employees the ability to book flights, hotels, etc., and expenses post in real time
• Custom approval workflows that can map to your organization’s compliance needs

Businesses choose it because: Navan combines corporate travel and expense management software in one solution.

2. Brex

Brex is a T&E solution combining spend management with corporate cards, bill pay, accounting automation, and other capabilities, plus travel management software and booking.

Key features:

• Global travel inventory of flights, hotels, and car rentals
• Track and manage expenses in real time
• AI-driven insights to identify cost savings 

Businesses choose it because: Like Navan, Brex combines corporate travel management with expense management for an all-in-one solution.

3. Ramp

Ramp is a corporate card and expense management platform that emphasises cost-cutting and efficiency, while also providing access to travel booking for flights and hotels. Like Brex, Ramp has bill pay features too, including a feature that allows you to compare costs against benchmarks from other, similar transactions processed on the platform. 

Key features: 

• Spend analytics to optimize budgets and track spend in real time
• Travel inventory with features to encourage cheaper, in-policy bookings
• Bill pay and accounting integrations

Businesses choose it because: Ramp aims to help companies find ways to save while also streamlining expense management and travel booking.

4. Expensify

Expensify aims to simplify expense reporting with receipt scanning, automated reimbursements, and a corporate credit card. It also has travel management capabilities so employees can book and expense travel through the platform.

Key features:

• Receipt capture that automatically categorizes expenses
• Budget tools that let you set limits at the individual, team, and department level, or on specific categories of expenses like meals and entertainment 
• Can also be used for personal expenses

Businesses choose it because: Expensivy is accessible to individuals as well as businesses, and offers a wide range of spend and expense management functionality. 

5. SAP Concur

SAP Concur is a combined expense-management, travel, and invoicing platform (Concur Expense, Concur Travel, Concur Invoice) built by SAP, one of the world’s largest makers of enterprise data systems.

Key features:

• Automatic card expense/receipt matching and checks to speed reconciliation 
• A mobile app so employees can upload and manage expenses while traveling
• Invoicing and travel-booking features

Businesses choose it because: It comes backed by SAP and integrates with their ERP and other enterprise software.

6. BILL

BILL is a financial operations platform with features to manage and automate account payable, accounts receivable, spend-tracking, and expenses. Lines of credit range from $1,000 to $5M.

Key features: 

• Rewards with flexible redemption options (travel, cash back, gift cards, or statement credits)
• Unlimited physical and virtual credit cards
• Integrations with popular accounting software, like QuickBooks and NetSuite, where you can track spend on BILL cards

Businesses choose it because: BILL has options for businesses of all sizes, including small- and medium-size businesses.

7. Airbase

Airbase offers a corporate card program along with other AP, procurement, and spend management products that can be integrated into one platform. 

Key benefits:

• Unlimited cash-back rewards
• Ability to integrate with existing corporate card programs from AMEX or Silicon Valley Bank
• Automatic card-expense syncing with your general ledger via 70+ ERP integrations

Businesses choose it because: It’s an easy way to centralize business spending alongside corporate cards.

8. Pleo

Pleo is a primarily European business credit card platform that aims to centralize expense management in one, easy-to-use interface.

Key benefits:

• Physical, temporary, virtual, and vendor “smart” credit cards
• Multi-entity capabilities to manage spend across markets/currencies
• Spend tracking, automation, and analytics, including a dedicated subscription dashboard that can flag duplicate expenses

Businesses choose it because: Its modern, branded platform and “smart” cards are simple and easy to use, including for employees.

9. Rippling

While Rippling technically offers corporate charge cards rather than credit cards, it delivers all the same core benefits of corporate card expense management—plus a whole lot more. As part of its all-in-one workforce platform, Rippling allows you to issue corporate cards with robust controls and automated workflows that sync seamlessly with payroll, HR, and accounting.

Key features:

• Customizable spend controls based on employee role, department, or any attribute in your HR system
• Automated policy enforcement and real-time transaction monitoring
• Integration with payroll and GL for streamlined reconciliation and reporting
• Role-based visibility and approval workflows to reduce compliance risk

Businesses choose it because: Rippling combines the power of workforce data with expense management, giving companies a uniquely integrated solution for managing card spend, even though it offers charge cards instead of credit cards.

How to choose the right credit card expense management software

There are a lot of software options on the market for corporate card expense management, many of which are similar. Here’s a list of features you can look for to make sure you’re making a good investment:

Expense categorization and expense reporting

You’ll want to make sure that whichever platform you choose is able to automatically categorize transactions and create expense reports. That makes it easier not only for employees to submit expense reports but for finance managers to get a real-time view into spending according to its accounting classification.

Customizable spending limits

Not every card or employee should have the same spending limits. The best expense management platforms allow you to tailor spending limits by employee or role. Some allow you to set limits in other ways—by category of expense, for instance, and some flag expenses that may run afoul of your expense policy. 

Integrations with accounting software

Much of the benefit of a credit card expense management platform is that it can integrate with your general ledger in your accounting/ERP software, streamlining compliance, reporting, tax preparation, and other aspects of expense reporting. To that end, be sure to make sure whichever solution you choose can integrate with your accounting tools.

Rewards and cashback programs

Business expenses can run up into the millions of dollars quite easily on corporate credit cards, so make sure the platform you choose offers some benefit for all of those outlays. Many corporate cards offer rewards in the form of cashback, statement credits, or gift cards. Choose one that offers rewards you’ll get the most benefit out of.

Multi-user management features

For large and fast-growing teams especially, multi-user management is an essential feature to screen for because it allows you to cater to the varied spending and permission needs of your employee base. Different employees and teams have different needs in the way of expense limits, approval flows, permissions, dashboards, and more—choose an option that’s flexible enough to cater to what you need to manage spend across your workforce.

Credit card vs. corporate card for expense management

Corporate cards are different from business credit cards, and it’s important to know why as you shop for one or the other.

Business credit cards are most often issued to startups and small businesses and function almost like a personal credit card—but for business use. Whether these cards are issued and under which terms typically depends on the creditworthiness of the business owner, who is ultimately responsible for repayment. These cards often come with perks like rewards and cash back, not unlike personal credit cards, but they are not necessarily paired with expense management software.

Corporate cards, on the other hand, are much more difficult to obtain and are issued on the basis of the business’s creditworthiness and financial position (not the owner’s). These cards are typically paired with expense management solutions—they are business expense management cards in that sense—to track, automate, and accelerate all things related to expenses, and they typically integrate with your accounting software as well. 

Corporate cards are a better fit for larger, more-established businesses that need credit to manage cash flow and a way for their employees to transact without using their own funds. As a bonus, they can track and manage spend all in one secure, compliance-friendly environment with automations and AI that can help streamline approvals, analyze spend, and manage reimbursements and record-keeping.

Why you need a corporate credit card expense management tool

For larger businesses with multiple employees making purchases on the company’s dime, for travel or otherwise, a corporate credit card with expense management software is often the better choice versus a standard business credit card. They provide more control, improve compliance, reduce the risk of overspending, and provide time-saving automation. Here’s a breakdown of the benefits:

• Built-in policy and spending controls: You’re able to apply your corporate travel policy to the platform, which may be able to detect and flag non-compliant purchases. Plus, you can typically limit spending per card, reducing the likelihood of any budgetary surprises.
• Centralized expense management: Expense management platforms allow you to view, approve, track, and process expenses in one place, affording you a bird’s-eye view of your organization's spend to gain better situational awareness and adhere to budgets.
• Tailored for large-scale use: A growing company without expense management software could easily become overwhelmed by the administrative and compliance demands of its workforce. Expense management software ensures that businesses can easily manage the expense needs of their employee base in the form of approval workflows, spending limits, and other features to keep expenses in check at scale.
• Liability and approvals structure: With corporate cards, liability typically falls on the business rather than the individual. At the same time, businesses can create approval workflows that manage risk by ensuring purchases are compliant with company policy and applicable laws.
• Customizable reporting: Corporate cards and corresponding software typically come with detailed, real-time reporting on spend. Finance teams can use these features to analyze spend trends, track budgets, and generate forecasts.
• Stronger fraud protection: Virtual credit cards that allow you to rapidly issue, use, and deactivate cards for one-off purchases can reduce the chances of fraud. Other protections typically include transaction monitoring and automated fraud detection to minimize the risk of unauthorized charges.

Rippling: The best corporate credit card expense management tool

With Rippling’s corporate cards, you get seamless expense management built right into your workforce platform. That allows you to track and optimize spend with unparalleled insight, efficiency, and control—and without the usual headaches of managing separate systems across interconnected functions like payroll and HR.

Unlike other expense management platforms that only handle transactions and expense approvals, Rippling fuses expense management with employee data, payroll, and accounting systems. That opens up new avenues for cost-saving and admin-reduction. Use employee attributes to issue or cancel a credit card when an employee joins or leaves, for instance, or to recalibrate their spending limit if they change roles—without any manual work. 

Other ways Rippling stands out:

• Hyper-tailored, customizable spending controls: With unified employee and spend data, you can create custom card policies and automatically control how, when, and where employees can spend.
• Role-based permissions: Control access and visibility based on employee roles as defined in your employee data, and empower every team to get detailed views into their own spend—and only theirs.
• Hyper-granular policy-setting on cards: Since Rippling houses your employee data, you can quickly and easily build hundreds of policies that enforce card spend exactly the way you want to at the employee level.

This blog is based on information available to Rippling as of April 15, 2025.

Disclaimer: Rippling and its affiliates do not provide tax, accounting, or legal advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide or be relied on for tax, accounting, or legal advice. You should consult your own tax, accounting, and legal advisors before engaging in any related activities or transactions.